What they’re saying about tenure ruling

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson: “All children deserve great teachers. Attracting, training and nurturing talented and dedicated educators are among the most important tasks facing every school district, tasks that require the right mix of tools, resources and expertise. Today’s ruling may inadvertently make this critical work even more challenging than it already is. … Teachers are not the problem in our schools, they are the solution.”

Marshall Tuck, candidate for state superintendent of public instruction: “Now, state Superintendent Torlakson faces a critical choice. I urge him to do the right thing for California’s students, and not appeal this landmark ruling. Now’s the time to work together to make sure there is an effective teacher in every classroom, and effective principal in every school. The state’s top education official must be an independent advocate for parents and students, not an apologist for a broken system.”

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan: “The students who brought this lawsuit are, unfortunately, just nine out of millions of young people in America who are disadvantaged by laws, practices and systems that fail to identify and support our best teachers and match them with our neediest students. Today’s court decision is a mandate to fix these problems.”

California Teachers Association: “Today’s ruling would make it harder to attract and retain quality teachers in our classrooms and ignores all research that shows experience is a key factor in effective teaching. … Circumventing the legislative process to strip teachers of their professional rights hurts our students and our schools.”

Michelle Rhee, chief executive of StudentsFirst: “Judge Treu’s groundbreaking ruling is a victory for California’s students and affirms their fundamental right to a quality education — regardless of their ZIP code. I applaud the parents and the nine courageous students who stood up for their future and their right to a quality education. It is my hope that this movement continues on the national stage for all of our students.”

Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers, via Twitter: “Sad day in California — but not unexpected — that lower court would find that for students to win, teachers have to lose.”

Alex Caputo-Pearl, incoming president of the Los Angeles teachers union: “This decision today is an attack on teachers, which is a socially acceptable way to attack children,” he said. Instead of providing for smaller classes or more counselors, “you attack teacher and student rights.”

Vista teacher Reagan Duncan via KUSI television: “Sadly, what it’s really not about is students. What it is really about is a billionaire and special-interest corporations taking a very personal interest in pushing their own agenda in public education. Decisions that are solutions … don’t come from the courtroom. They come when parents, teachers and the community come together.”

Assemblyman Rocky Chávez, R-Oceanside: “Students are entitled to the best education available and that begins with successful teachers in the classroom. This ruling emphasizes that resources need to be focused on students, and not protecting ineffective teachers.”

California School Boards Association President Josephine Lucey: “(The decision) is a call for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that all of California’s 6 million schoolchildren have an equal opportunity to a quality education. We should not and cannot afford to wait for the appellate courts to address these critical issues.”